Kirsten Gillibrand Giving ‘Long, Hard Thought’ to Possible 2020 Run

Caitlin Ochs

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) gave the strongest indication yet that she might jump into what is shaping up to be a large 2020 Democratic presidential field. During an interview with Stephen Colbert on Thursday night, Gillibrand, who coasted to re-election this week, said she would “give it a long, hard thought of consideration.”

“I believe it is a moral question for me,” Gillibrand said when Colbert asked her what the future holds. “And I believe in right vs. wrong and until this election, I actually thought that wrong was winning. And as I’ve traveled across my state, across the country for all these candidates, I’ve seen the hatred and the division that President Trump has put out into our country and it has called me to fight as hard as I possibly can to restore the moral compass of this country.”

“So I believe right now that every one of us should figure out how we can do whatever we can with our time, with our talents to restore that moral decency, that moral compass and that truth of who we are as Americans,” Gillibrand continued. “So I will promise you I will give it a long, hard thought of consideration.”

In her recent Senate debate, Gillibrand had said that she would serve her six-year term, but White House aspirants often change their tunes as time goes on.

The New York senator’s comments sounded quite a bit like remarks made by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) during a town-hall meeting in late September, when she told an attendee: “So here’s what I promise, after November 6, I will take a hard look at running for president.”